Friday Skull Session

By D.J. Byrnes on April 25, 2014 at 6:00 am
Army Day Parade, ROTC Band, April 1947; via Ohio State Library
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Friday's NSFW Anti-Work Banger is a 10 minute excerpt from Dave Chappelle's "Killin' 'Em Softly."

BRADLEY ROBY'S SUSPICIOUS ARREST. The big news to break last night was Bradley Roby's Sunday arrest for suspicion of DUI. The circumstances are somewhat bizarre.

From Kyle's report:

According to police records, Roby was pulled over on Vine Street, near Kilbourne Street, in downtown Columbus when a Columbus Police officer approached his car. After a field sobriety test, he blew a .008 into a breathalyzer. Ohio's legal limit is .08, or 10 times what Roby registered. He is set to be arraigned Friday at 10 a.m. at Franklin County Municipal Court.

(Roby's agent says his client's car was parked when police approached.) Hopefully for the credibility of the Columbus Police Department, they're not egregiously ringing people up for DUIs when they're 90% under the legal limit.

Roby's car was impounded but no contraband was found. Sources within the prosecutor's office and the Columbus Police Department have told Eleven Warriors they expect the case against Roby to be dropped.

It's a pretty dreadful situation for ol' Bradley Roby. It appears he hasn't broken a single law but might've lost hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars (depending on if he slides in the draft).

WUT THE HELL IS THIS MIKE CONLEY. Mike Conley is truly one of the under-appreciated stars of the NBA. I love his game and the Memphis Grizzlies in general. This, though... this is horrifying:


I was worried about the state of Conley's mind when I saw this pic, but that stupid little hat did little to hamper Conley on the court.

The former OSU standout led the Grizzlies with 20 points; he also grabbed five boards and dished out three assists in the Game 3 win over the Thunder. (Kosta Koufos also got #bizzy to the tune of six points and five rebounds!!!)

Memphis leads the series, 2-1.

WHOLE MEN'S TENNIS TEAM WINS ALL-B1G HONORS. That's a bit of an exaggeration, but only slightly.

From OSU's official site:

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Peter Kobelt and Herkko Pollanen, members of the No. 2 Ohio state men’s tennis team, were named First Team All-Big Ten at the annual Big Ten Tournament banquet Thursday night in East Lansing, Mich. Hunter Callahan, Kevin Metka and Ralf Steinbach earned second-team laurels. Buckeye head coach Ty Tucker was recognized as Big Ten Coach of the Year for the ninth-consecutive season and 10th overall. 

Cool to see the tennis team's continued success, especially since a lot of their players are Ohio-bred.

UNIONIZATION VOTE COMETH. It's judgement day for Northwestern football's attempts to unionize. Whatever the outcome, remember: the big decision is still months away.

From Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated:

That's why schools probably shouldn't relax even if exit polls on Friday show the Northwestern players voted against unionizing. If the NLRB ultimately rules players are employees, there will be a host of new issues for schools to handle. These could include taxation issues for all players -- and possibly for athletic departments -- and immigration issues for international players.

Also, if athletes are employees, some team at a private school somewhere will eventually vote to unionize. Not all coaches are as beloved as Fitzgerald. Not all schools treat their athletes as well as Northwestern does. Because of numbers, the chances are much greater that it will be a men's basketball team instead of a football team. On a basketball team, only seven of 13 scholarship players would have to agree to form a union. A galvanizing event such as the firing of a popular coach or the hiring of an unpopular one could easily tip the scales in favor of a union.

So, while most of the coverage these next two days will focus on the vote itself, don't get caught believing the sound bytes. Like anything else involving college athletics and the government, this issue won't be resolved quickly or cleanly.

Teddy Greenstein of The Chicago Tribune also reminds us Kain Colter has already won:

But here's the thing: No matter how the players vote Friday, Kain Colter has already won. The College Athletes Players Association has won. Northwestern has also won because now more people know about its 97 percent graduation rate and its policy of awarding four-year scholarships.

If the majority of players vote "no" to the union, NU coach Pat Fitzgerald will have won too. He made this vote a referendum on how he treats his players and whether they believe he has their backs.

The only loser is the lame status quo.

I expect the vote to be "no," but I am amused by millionaire college football administrators and coaches attempting to squelch the attempt of 18-22 year-olds banding together for better health care and scholarship security.

If I were a player, I think that'd tell me all I need to know.

POWER CONFERENCES ONE STEP CLOSER TO AUTONOMY. The Mike Slive/Jim Delany showdown is going to be a slobber-knocker, folks. I wouldn't miss it for the world.

From the NCAA's official site:

The Division I Board of Directors is one step closer to approving a new governance system in August.

The board endorsed the restructuring process, which is aimed at allowing the division to be more nimble, streamlined and responsive to needs – particularly the needs of student-athletes – during its meeting Thursday in Indianapolis.

You think the SEC is wildin' out now? *In my Clay Davis voice* Sheeeeeeeiiiiiiiiiiit, you haven't seen anything yet. 

THOSE WMDs. How to cheat, do drugs and succeed at baseball, according to Doc Ellis... Ten con-men and their masterful forgeries... Ronaldinho's sick skills.. Scout names freshman Dylan Moses a five-star prospect... The curious requests of World Cup teams in Brazil... CFB puppet-master ESPN in talks with Pac-12, Big-12 for game in Mexico City... NBA draft collusion only asking for more trouble for NCAA... Most people with herpes don't know it... Texas students make a tailgating app... 

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